Federal Research

The goal of the Pilot Technology Access Program was to establish special technology assistance centers to deliver counseling, training, and research assistance to small businesses. A March 1994 GAO report (GAO/RCED-94-75) discussed the program's implementation and progress during the first two years. Shortly after that report was issued, Congress decided not to fund the program beyond fiscal year 1995, its fourth year. This second and final report on the program discusses the status of the program centers during the fourth and final year of federal funding and also provides GAO's observations on lessons learned during the pilot. GAO believes that these observations could be beneficial if Congress reconsiders such a program in the future.

GAO found that: (1) Congress has decided not to fund TAPP beyond fiscal year (FY) 1995; (2) one TAPP center has operated independently on a reduced scale since FY 1993 and the remaining five centers plan to continue operations beyond FY 1995, but they are not sure of their organization, services, and funding; (3) the five centers serviced 1,840 businesses in FY 1994, of which 59 percent were manufacturers and 66 percent were businesses just getting started; (4) TAPP services included technical and nontechnical information, and technical, patent, and marketing assistance; (5) although the program's impact could not be determined, TAPP clients were generally satisfied with the centers' operations and services; (6) center officials were generally pleased with their programs' development and believed that certain individual projects produced favorable results; and (7) lessons learned from TAPP that should be considered in designing future programs include adding more specificity to program goals and objectives, determining whether a separate and distinct federal program is necessary, determining the organizational type best suited to manage such a program, and deciding program funding options.